Hi,

When I start or restart my PC I get the following msg:

"Intel recommends the use of a 2x12 power connector or a 2x10 power connector in conjunction with the 1x4 alternate power connector"

"Pri Master Hard Disk: S.M.A.R.T. Status BAD, Backup & Replace"
"Sec Master Hard Disk: S.M.A.R.T. Status BAD, Backup & Replace"

I've got a WD Caviar SE 80GB (1 year old) & a WD Caviar SE 120 GB (7 months old), both are SATA.

My mobo is "Intel Desktop Board D915GAV"

I already bought a Maxtor DiamondMax 10 (250GB) incase I need to back-up. If I do need to back-up can you suggest a back-up program & show me how to back-up my "C:" drive specially

Is this a new problem? Did this machine work OK previously?

Perhaps check your main power connector. Are you sure that the PSU is OK?

To see 2 relatively new hard drives fail at the same time in the same computer would lead me to look elsewhere for the cause of errors.

You can run the WD diagnostic on the drives: http://support.wdc.com/download/downloadxml.asp

This Lifeguard tool can also copy drives:

http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc....ers.search_fnl

If you want to copy a boot drive there are these instructions from WD although they say not to use this on failing drives.
You may need to reinstall your Operating System.
How do I create a copy or backup of a boot drive using a Data lifeguard Tools 11 for DOS disk? http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc....i=&p_topview=1

Windows XP also contains a backup function: start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Backup

Beyond this there are many programs you can purchase. Norton's Ghost being very popular: http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoff...overy/ghost10/

Is this a new problem? Did this machine work OK previously?

Yes, although it says the status is bad if i press "F4" I can use the PC normally

Perhaps check your main power connector. Are you sure that the PSU is OK?

the PSU is around 9-10 months old..

Anyway thank u for the help i'm goin 2 check the links you posted

Did you add anything new to the system before you received the power connector statement/SMART message?

Nope, i just restarted my PC cuz it was a bit sluggish & "WHAM" it was there

I have to confess to knowing next to nothing about SATA drives but I agree with Jephree - it doesn't sound like the drives are really faulty. More likely to be an issue with the power (or lack of power) that they're getting. If you have any spare power connectors inside the case, it would be worth connecting different connectors to the drives. Another thing to try might be to stick the SATA data cables onto ports 2 and 3 on the motherboard, rather than ports 0 and 1. That might not allow the system to boot (not sure) but it should still do the SMART checks on those ports and it might tell you that they're OK (which would identify a motherboard issue).

hmmm, ok i'm gonna try that

SATA is very power sensitive...Question, do you get the power question when the drives are removed?